Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Gould, Walter

GOULD, Walter, artist, b. in Philadelphia in 1829; d. in Florence, Italy, 18 Jan., 1893. He studied drawing and painting under Sully; became a member of the Artists' fund society of Philadelphia in 1846, working there and in Fredericksburg, Va., where he painted a large number of portraits, nearly all of which were destroyed during the civil war. He removed to Florence in 1849, spent some months of study in Paris, and made occasional sketching-tours in the east. His subjects are generally oriental, and illustrate principally the habits and customs of the Turks. In 1851 he visited Asia Minor, lived with and painted portraits of the imprisoned governor of Hungary, Kossuth, and many other prominent men. He also visited Constantinople, and painted pictures of many important persons there. “An Eastern Story-Teller,” painted for the collection of Matthew Baird, of Philadelphia, is regarded as his most valuable work.